Will once a week “cheat day” ruin my diet?

I’m 21, 157cm tall.
My fitness pal recommends me to eat 1200cals a day but i eat more than that like 1300-1400 (cuz yah 1200 cals are for babies) but i walk-jog everyday for 1hour so yeah.
And during my day off, specially friday, i eat around 2500. Will this ruin the whole week of starving myself?

Replies

  • Jeanaiah
    Jeanaiah Posts: 15 Member
    Are you still in a deficit for the week?
    Are you still in a deficit for the week?

    Yes.. my maintenance calories are around 1700 and i eat 1200-1400 everyday except fridays
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    I save my calories for the weekends, it has not impeded at all.
  • StargazerB
    StargazerB Posts: 425 Member
    edited May 2020
    This puts you at approximately a 1000 calorie per week deficit. Yes, you should still lose weight but it will be slow and that's totally ok.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    6 days at 1300-1400 and one day at 2500 puts your total calorie intake at 10,300-10,900 for the week.

    If your maintenance calories are 1700, then you’re burning a total of 11,900 calories a week.

    So you’re still in a deficit of 1000-1600 calories for the week. So you’ll lose about 1/3-1/2 pound a week. You don’t mention how much you weigh but that may be a very reasonable rate.
  • Ange_Lu
    Ange_Lu Posts: 1 Member
    It won’t ruin your progress!!! In fact, it is recommended to have a cheat meal at least once a week, it will benefit you mentally and physically. If you’re planning to eat 2500 cals on your cheat day, then enjoy! But keep in mind that you might gain some water weight or get a little bloated. Hope this helps, greetings!
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    The math above shows that if you're eating 2,500 on your "cheat day" and the rest of what you're saying is accurate that you will lose weight. What I want to call out is that you say you're eating "around 2,500." Is this "cheat day" logged or are you guessing? If it is an unlogged day, it's possible that you could eat enough to cancel out the rest of your deficit for the week. Just something to consider.

    I would suggest that if you feel like you're "starving" during the week, you may want to adjust your plan so that it is more sustainable overall instead of relying on a "cheat day" to get you through the week. Obviously, the math shows that it *can* work, but many people find that weight loss is much easier when they're not suffering for the majority of the week.